Russian tycoon shot six times outside his luxury flat in Canary Wharf is wanted over Moldovan murder plot

The Russian tycoon gunned down outside his luxury London flat is wanted over an alleged plot to murder a rich banker, The Mail on Sunday has discovered.

German Gorbuntsov, 46, who is still recovering from wounds sustained in the assassination attempt last March, faces extradition to Moldova to stand trial over the claims.

He is accused of ordering the contract killing of businessman Renat Usatiy, with whom he was fighting for control of a bank worth more than £5 million.

The Russian banker who was shot six times, German Gorbuntsov, on his feet in hospital in London

Last night Mr Usatiy told The Mail on Sunday that the two men had fallen out after Mr Usatiy bought a stake in Universal Bank in Moldova for £1.2 million at a time when Mr Gorbuntsov was facing debt problems.

According to Mr Usatiy, Mr Gorbuntsov accused him of trying to steal the bank from under his nose.

When Mr Usatiy refused to give up his investment, he claims Mr Gorbuntsov ordered his assassination.

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The Mail on Sunday has been told that the Russian tycoon has now left the London hospital where he was taken after he was shot six times and is hiding at a secret address in London guarded by armed police.

Mr Gorbuntsov blames shadowy figures close to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the botched attempt on his life.

Speaking from Spain, Mr Usatiy says that he discovered Mr Gorbuntsov was planning his murder in August 2011.

Wanted: The man in a black leather jacket, blue jeans and without bag on a platform at Canary Wharf Tube station moments after the shooting

He said: 'Fearful of what could happen, I increased my security and brought my armoured car from Moscow to Chisinau [the Moldovan capital], and went to the police.'

Moldovan prosecutors have confirmed their request to Britain to put Mr Gorbuntsov on trial.

Bratunov Corneliu, head of prosecutions in the department of exceptional cases in Moldova's prosecutor-general's office, said: 'We sent a request for German Gorbuntsov's extradition three or four weeks ago.

'Gorbuntsov is accused of the attempted contract killing of Renat Usatiy and if he is found guilty he is looking at 20 years in prison.' Mr Usatiy added: 'My company bought the bank and that's actually the first time I had dealings with Gorbuntsov.

Renat Usatiy, whom Gorbuntsov is accused of plotting to kill

'Obviously he was not happy with it but he didn't act like a real man.

'He
didn't call to ask to meet me and talk – he just went to the Department
of Anti-Corruption and filed a request saying that I had faked the
papers and stolen his bank.'

Speaking from his hospital bed last April, Mr Gorbuntsov described the attempt on his own life.

He said he had just stepped out of a taxi and was punching in the entry code to his Canary Wharf apartment block when his would-be assassin emerged from the shadows.

He said: 'It was around 8pm when I got back home from my office in the City.

'I tapped in the code and when I got to the third digit, I suddenly felt a terrible sharp pain in my stomach and then another, and another.

'I realised I was being shot at and I struggled to open the door. I aimed to jump behind the wall a few feet inside the entrance.'

Last night he responded to the allegations against him by accusing Mr Usatiy of being linked to the Russian banking group that Mr Gorbuntsov blames for his own assassination attempt.

He says a close friend of President Putin is involved in the group.

Mr Gorbuntsov believes that he was targeted because he was preparing to give evidence to Russian prosecutors about a botched assassination attempt on his former business partner, Alexander Antonov, who was shot in Moscow in 2009 but survived. Mr Gorbuntsov claims he fled to London in 2010 when he fell out with the men behind the Antonov attack. He and his mistress, who was with him when he was shot, are seeking asylum in Britain.

His lawyer, Vadim Vedenin, who said that Mr Gorbuntsov was released from hospital before New Year's Eve and was making a good recovery from his injuries, added: 'It is their response. German accused them of organising the March 2012 assassination attempt in London – and they have found this Usatiy guy who has now accused German.'

A former Russian banker was left in a critical condition in hospital after being shot several times at Canary Wharf in London

'He cannot be extradited while the investigation into the attempt on his own life is still going on.

'We told the British investigators about this Usatiy guy, and warned them that he was a person linked to those who German blames for his shooting.'

Under extradition arrangements between Britain and Moldova, Home Secretary Theresa May must approve the request and the case must be heard in a British court before Mr Gorbuntsov can be deported.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it was unable to discuss whether it has received an extradition request.

Scotland Yard added: 'We wouldn't confirm extradition proceedings in relation to someone until they have been arrested and put in front of a magistrates' court.'

Russian in feud with media magnate is trying to buy his way out of Cambodian jail

A Russian billionaire accused of holding six men hostage is trying to buy his way out of a Cambodian jail.

Sergei Polonsky is alleged to have locked the sailors on a boat before forcing them at knifepoint to jump into the sea and swim back to the shore after a New Year party.

The tycoon is being detained in a 12ft by 9ft cell in Sihanoukville prison alongside two Russian friends and seven Cambodians.

But lawyers for the sailors said Mr Polonsky, 40, had paid them $20,000 (£12,400) and they had dropped their formal complaints against him. It was also reported that Polonsky had apologised to the sailors.

Russian national Sergei Polonsky (centre) being escorted by Cambodian military police officials from a boat at Sihanoukville, south-west of Phnom Penh

A friend of the men said: 'This is a lot of money in Cambodia. They could not refuse.'

Mr Polonsky's lawyers are hoping police will drop the charges – which could see him jailed for three years – saying the incident was a 'misunderstanding due to language problems'. But prosecutors say they want to investigate the matter fully.

Mr Polonsky, who has also appealed to the king of Cambodia for a pardon, says he will apply for Cambodian citizenship when he is released, possibly in an effort to avoid extradition to Russia where he could face charges over problems in his property empire.

'He behaved in an absolutely disgusting
manner. He was like, "I'm a billionaire, and who the hell are you?"
They were constantly drunk.'

Witness

Mr Polonsky's allegedly aggressive behaviour could help former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev, who faces trial over their televised fight in 2011 that went viral on the internet.

During a heated debate, Mr Polonsky was sent crashing to the floor, and will be the main witness for the Russian authorities in a Moscow court case that could see newspaper magnate Mr Lebedev jailed for up to six years.

Many see the trial as politically motivated because of criticism by Mr Lebedev and his newspapers of corruption in Russia. Mr Lebedev's family own titles including the Independent and the London Evening Standard.

Mr Polonsky was arrested on December 30 after a party on the island of Koh Rong. He and two friends were staying at a guesthouse on a beach popular with backpackers when trouble flared.

A French woman staying nearby claimed: 'He behaved in an absolutely disgusting manner. He was like, “I'm a billionaire, and who the hell are you?” They were constantly drunk.

'We woke up at 5.30am to see these Russians in lifejackets running about the beach, shouting, “He's gone mad!” Then they sailed off.'

It is alleged the six sailors were taking Mr Polonsky from the island to the mainland when he commandeered their boat and locked them in a bathroom.

A navy source said: 'When we reached the scene, he had forced the sailors to jump into the sea. He then resisted arrest and tried to flee, jumping into the sea too.'